Scribblings and scratchings on the paper…

Planning a true micro layout in such a large scale really is the proverbial “quart into a pint pot” challenge. It would be easy to go over the four square feet limit and and produce something micro in spirit. But it is the four square feet micro layout limit that is the true challenge. Let’s see how things work out. The first thing is put together a couple of “inspiration sheets” something to draw on for ideas.

Inspiration sheet 1.

Sheet 1 has a couple of my holiday snaps from the foundry at Llanberis, which are the real inspiration for the layout. The others are Google Earth screen shots of the DeWinton Works in Caernarfon. The foundry was in the square building. There is even a plaque on the wall outside that marks its historic status. As a brick building, to me it doesn’t have the character of the stone built foundry at Llanberis.

What really grabbed me though was the arrangement of the single storey buildings along the road. Fitted tightly between the road and the riverside. I was told that these buildings were also part of the DeWinton works. But that could just have been a story told to me by a local taking my money for parking there, as we took a trip on the Welsh Highland Railway. In my minds eye, I can see an interesting layout based around these buildings with cutaway walls around the outside so you see into the buildings and watch the train pass through various store rooms etc; much like a dolls house. At 7/8ths inch to the foot scale we are in dolls house modelling territory. It would be an interesting crossover between the modelling spheres.

Inspiration sheet 2

Sheet 2 shows some interesting scenes at Horwich and Crewe works. Having the railway run between buildings, inside and out appeals to me. This would be an avenue I’d like to explore. The tiny wagons in the images makes me wonder if the wagons I have aren’t too big. Smaller wagons would have a positive effect on my T.L.U. Making them shorter.  

Toying with the idea of Chris Mears overlap concept. Indoor foundry and outdoor scene.

Now I just start scribbling, putting bits together. It’s so very difficult with no idea of sizes of things. It’s almost like I need to build the loco and wagons and some structures to get a feel for things. Making little tools is fun. But it doesn’t contribute much to knowing the size of the layout. 

Do I run the track around a corner?

I think I have an idea of what I want to do. It’s just getting the elements into a coherent whole now.